Beginnings
by purple devil 87
Summary: And before the film ever happened they where friends. Yet did Shirwin ever notice their unsual ineractions or was it all just denial.


And they sat. Surrounded by grass and flowers. The carpet of grass reached past their heads hiding them inside the meadow. As they ran through the large meadow it left a path in their wake. "Jonathan, come on!" Sherwin grabbed his hand pulling him along. He had stopped to gaze at a large bug. "Alright." they reached a large tree and unfurling from its branches was a welcoming tree house. It was an energetic moment.

They sat on the beach, staring out at the world. Their toes brushing against the sand. Jonathans hand rested on Sherwins shoulder. It was a quiet moment.

They rode their bikes through the town, racing along the streets. It was an exhilarating moment.

They made shadow puppets in the dusky evening beneath the porchlight. And that was a silly moment.

When they were young they shared so many moments. But, they never lasted.

The years had passed and time had worn away their moments together. Jonathan stood staring at the splintery slats of wood in the back porch. Finally he looked up meeting Sherwins eyes. "I'm moving. It's for my dad's job." "Oh. I'll miss hanging out together." Sherwins voice was flat. It lacked its playfulness. "I won't be gone forever. We'll move back." "You sure?" "Yeah. Besides I-I can call you and keep in touch." Instinctively Jonathan layed his hands on Sherwins shoulders and pulled him into a short hug. He could feel Sherwin relax under his touch. Jonathan spoke again. His breath tickling Sherwins neck. "I won't be gone forever."

As the seasons changed and the air crisped up school changed too. Elementary came and went and as middle school began, years passed. Sometimes Sherwin wondered if it really was forever and he had lied. But he would always call him and talk and then ask. As per usual he would always say it would be over soon. But soon wasn't coming.

Untill…

It was the first day of eight grade.

As he stood outside the large school. He felt its shadow looming over the surrounding houses and trees. Welp this was it.

And then it was the second day. And the third day, and then after all the waiting it was Jonathan.

They caught up at lunch, taking and sharing their schedules. Sherwins heart pounded with every moment they had together whether it was at school or after school, weekdays or weekends. He could only guess that it was the excitement he felt.

It was simple to pick up where they left off. They would be together filling there spare time with weekends full of late nights and memories and good thoughts.

There were subtle things Sherwin had always accepted as just part of their friendship. But as they grew older and moved away he realised they weren't normal. There was that feeling he had when their time was spent together. He had always assumed it was excitement, but he never had been excited before about their friendship.

And then there was that day. The day that it all made sense.

He had been sitting behind one of the hedges minding his own business, but then suddenly out of nowhere there where footsteps down the path behind him. He had peeked ever so slightly over the edge of the auburn hedges capturing a glance at a familiar face stroll past into the main building. He could feel his heart beat again, noisily this time.

But it was too loud. As Jonathan turned to face the sound Sherwin pressed his body against the tree next to him, hoping to be almost invisible. After years of denial mixed with his odd yet pleasant friendship he realised the feeling. Love.

His heart burst forth from his chest zooming out from behind the hedge

And there it was. Fumbling midair he grabbed it. For a second he kept hold of it until The the small heart flew out of Sherwin's grasp. The only reaction he had in the few seconds was the small mouthed "What?" which escaped his lips, but he had no time to react in any other way, because the next thing he knew, the small incarnation of his feelings was flying straight towards Jonathan. Desperately, he swatted at it, trying to catch it before it got too close to the boy, but in vain. It flew to his face, startling him enough to make him stumble, and of course, fall. Sherwin lunged at it, and caught it just before he hit the unforgiving ground.

He didn't, however, plan on catching him so that he ended up holding the other boy bridal style. He blushed, his face growing several shades darker, as his heart pushed at the back of his head with immense force, trying to get his face as close to Sherwin's as possible…

"It wants me to kiss him." it was a single and crazy thought racing through his mind.

Truly, the temptation was there; it was the perfect romantic setting, Jonathan looked confused, but overall not too alarmed at the situation, his eyes boring into his and letting Sherwin drown in their warmth, but he couldn't. Perspiration was building on his hands, he was trembling from head to foot, and of course it would be immensely disrespectful to do so without any consent. The moment was magic to him though, lost in time, a few seconds that he relished in before he was brought back to his senses by the crunching of the pair of feet on the gravel path behind him. Quickly, he straightened up, caught his heart and held it tightly in a knuckle-whitening grip,diving into the nearest shrub.

Sherwin let out a sigh of relief, then turned back to Jonathan, offering him a small, cramped smile. To his heart's absolute delight, he returned his own stiff smile. But the smile was quick as it was replaced with a look consisting of some sort of what in the fuck is happening expression. Without a reply from Sherwin Jonathan turned towards the building not wanting to be late for his last period.

As if greased, Sherwins heart managed to slip his grasp, the little thing taking hold of his finger and pulling him along with a strength that its small form left unexpected. He held on as fast as he could, trying to dig his heels into the ground, but this only slowed their progression down very marginally. Soon, they were moving again with great gusto, and it took all he had to swerve to avoid colliding with Jonathan, who remained somehow oblivious of the situation. His heart managed to bring them back on route again, and a small rock sat in his way. Ready to trip him. He closed his eyes tight, prepared for the inevitable…

Well, in the end it did turn out to be evitable, but only at the cost of a now dirtied uniform, a couple of bruises, and a now absent heart. shirwin panicked, looking around only to catch a glimpse of the small organ rounding the bend to the door, a second before it closed. He jumped to his feet, rushing to catch it, but in vain: when he burst through the double doors, he saw, to his horror, that the small heart was cuddling up to Jonathan, who looked immensely confused in the small pool of light that streamed in from the window above. People mulled around looking on in distaste. He wanted to shrink as small as possible and hide.

But nervously Shirwin took a step forward, then another, snatching the heart away at the last minute, but it held on tight, catching one of Jonathan's fingers even as he tried to pull it away from him. The brunet tugged harder, but...it didn't want to let go. Jonathan looked to him in confusion, his free arm close to his body and terrified, it seemed.

He couldn't do this any longer. He had to get himself and his treacherous heart away from this person he loved so, before he hurt him more than he had already. With a final tug, he pulled at the small arm of his incarnate feelings, and with that, he found himself holding only half of. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

The rest was a blur. He remembered slamming bodily through the doors, then sprinting to his one safe space on the school grounds, the place that held so many memories that he kept so, so close, but that he was now going to have to abandon once and for all.

There, he curled up, staring down at his broken heart, holding only half in hands, half that had been numbed, unfeeling. He felt detached from himself for a few seconds, that is, until he felt the hot tears track down his cheeks, and he was awoken to the reality of the situation.

The rest of his reflection was interrupted by a sob, his own. It was filled to the brim with all the suffering, all the guilt he felt. It was a single, heartbroken sound which echoed in the closed area formed by the trees and the school's façade. After that, only silent tears fell, dampening the small pink half of heart that he held, the numbness returning as quickly as it had left.

He didn't look up when the gravel of the path crunched, nor did he do so when a certain face peeked over the top of the bush he was hiding behind. It was only when he finally entered his line of sight that Sherwin looked up, then quickly tried to dry his tears, getting up from his sitting position as he did. He knew very well that he could fool nobody with his reddened eyes and dishevelled self, but he could still try to put up a front, at least something to seem respectful to the person he still felt too attracted to for his own good. He didn't look him in the eye though, there was no way he would be able to do that, but he still forced a smile as he looked at the other boy's shoes. They were perfectly polished, just like the rest of his appearance. It was comforting, the fact that from what he could see, he had not changed, had not been pushed around for what had just happened. Well. Maybe.

A hand crossed his line of sight, one which advanced hesitantly, holding what Sherwin recognised to be the second part of his halved heart. Another set of fingers quickly joined the first, reaching hesitantly for what he now realised were his whitened knuckles that were sheltering the part of the heart that he still held tight.

Instinctively, he flinched away, but quickly relented and corrected his mistake. There was no reason for him to deny anything to the boy he had loved so, and he would, without any hesitation, give him the second part of his heart to do with what he pleased. To his surprise, he took it gently, handling it like it was some delicate bird, hands shaking a little, visibly anxious. Carefully, he pressed the two pieces together, which melded like clay, leaving a slight seam. He then held out a hand again, Sherwin confused for a second on what he was wishing for this time. It was only as he reached forward and tenderly took a hold of his own sweating palms that he understood, and in the moment he didn't react, as he was too shaken up by it all. He was… holding his hand. It was large, warm, and slightly calloused, reminding him of freshly-baked bread, for some reason. It also happened to send a constant, tingling sensation coursing up his arm, making him feel light-headed and causing the butterflies to flutter softly in his stomach again.

Then, Jonathan placed the heart in his hand, the coolness of it, not unlike polished stone, contrasting dramatically with the warmth he had previously experienced. Another sob, this one he could not entirely comprehend and even less explain choking up his throat and releasing in a full-body shudder. Their hands were one on top of the other, intertwining, holding the heart in its very centre.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, as if revived by the combined heat from their two sets of digits, there was a movement, and with the same strength that it demonstrated having earlier on, the little organ wriggled out of its cage of intertwined fingers and flew around them, whizzing happily once or twice around their heads before settling next to Sherwin's, floating and bobbing up and down excitedly.

They were still holding hands, Sherwin registered. Jonathan hadn't let go, despite the fact that his heart was now healed and whole. Hesitantly, for the first time since he had burst out of the hall, Sherwin looked up, catching sight of Jonathan's face, his eyes. There, he saw something that he wouldn't have thought he would ever see: not only was he forgiving and a little embarrassed, he was… happy. In fact, when their eyes locked, a squiggle of a smile drew itself upon his face, and he let a small, noiseless laugh escape, one which was beyond the realms of adorable and which made his heart feel like it had been resurrected once more.

After a while, Jonathan untangled his hands from Sherwin's, but didn't take a step back like he expected him to do. No, instead he moved forward, blush ever-spreading across his face and looped his hands behind his back, hugging him close.

Surprised, Sherwin imitated the movement, settling his arms around Jonathan's neck, holding him loosely, as if he was made of the finest of china. Up close, he was just as wonderful as he had seemed to him before, as he had ever seemed to him, since that very first day their friendship formed. He leaned forward bumping foreheads with Jonathan, bringing their faces close enough for the taller boy's line of sight to be taken up entirely by the beautiful rays of polished mahogany and honey streaks of the other boy's irises, and their chests close enough for him to feel the flutter of his heartbeat. It was quick, like a fleeing bird, and when it emerged to join Jonathan's it flew like such as well, whirling around and around their heads to finally meet the other.

Sherwin didn't need to look up to know, he felt it as they synced, beating in unison after so many years of denying his love.

Beating as one.


End file.
